Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

The eunuch went out to deliver the summons, and Li Shimin put down the intelligence report in his hand, picked up other memorials, and began to read them.

After a while, important officials from various courts arrived at the hall one after another.

In the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, two important ministers under Li Shimin, Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui, had already passed away.

Wei Zheng was the one who passed away at the beginning of the year.

Therefore, the core decision-making circle of the Tang Dynasty today consists of only the people mentioned above.

Among them, some were quite well-informed and had already heard some rumors.

The Crown Prince's residence is closer, so we'll go first.

Hou Junji and Chu Suiliang were the last to arrive.

Once everyone was present, Li Shimin informed his senior officials of the news of the Prince of Qi's rebellion.

"Your Majesty need not worry. Prince Qi is ambitious but incompetent, with only a few dozen loyal followers. He will not accomplish anything significant. We only need to send a general to quell the rebellion." Fang Xuanling, the Grand Secretary and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, immediately offered a solution and commented on Li You's abilities.

Li Shimin nodded: "This boy has always been arrogant and lawless. I first sent Quan Wanji to discipline him, hoping he could reform. Unexpectedly, Quan Wanji was killed by him!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the senior officials all changed.

Quan Wanji was an upright man with an excellent reputation as an official; it's unexpected that he would die like this.

Moreover, Quan Wanji had previously served as the chief official of Prince Wu, Li Ke. Because of his good performance, Li Shimin transferred him to Li You's side, hoping that he could properly educate this son.

Little did they know that some students could understand the teacher's good intentions, while others only harbored murderous intent towards the teacher.

Hou Junji stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I request permission to lead the troops into battle!"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Junji, there are many battles in the world; we can't let you fight them all, can we?"

Hou Junji was taken aback, then immediately knelt down: "Your subject dares not!"

Get up!

"Li Ji, you'll go this time."

"I've heard that wicked man has amassed several thousand troops. You have 30,000 men; bring that wicked man back to me!"

"promise!"

Li Ji, upon receiving the emperor's order, showed little excitement.

For Li Ji, this kind of suppression war that took place within his own territory was nothing more than a small matter.

"Now that everyone's here, let's discuss the matter in the north."

The so-called "matters in the north" refer to what happened in Goguryeo.

Since the coup d'état by Yeon Gaesomun, a powerful minister in Goguryeo, relations between Goguryeo and the Tang Dynasty became delicate. By the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, the situation had deteriorated further, to the point where it had to be dealt with.

If we also take into account the recent rebellion of the Prince of Qi in Shandong, the seventeenth year of Zhenguan was indeed a turbulent time.

However, a capable and powerful ruler like Li Shimin was not afraid of war at all.

Li Er was even secretly pleased and excited about the upcoming war against Goguryeo.

For Li Er, fighting was like playing a game, a great way to relax both body and mind.

Having been away from the battlefield for too long, Li Er was quite eager to mount his horse and go to war again.

"I've been thinking about this these past few days, and I think it would be best to divide our forces into two routes. One route will depart from Laizhou, take the sea route, and head straight for Pyongyang. The other route will advance into Liaodong. Each route will have 50,000 troops, and we will fight Goguryeo first. What do you all think?"

Upon hearing the question from his superior, the military genius Li Jing replied, "In my opinion, Your Majesty's strategy is quite sound. However... Goguryeo's military strength is formidable, with a total force of 500,000. Are our 100,000 troops sufficient?"

Li Shimin shook his head: "In the past, Emperor Yang of Sui mobilized the entire nation to launch three campaigns against Goguryeo in three years, expending countless military and civilian resources. What was the result? It was all in vain and did nothing to help. Our Tang Dynasty is not that wealthy, and our people need to recuperate. This northern expedition will first scare them and prevent Goguryeo from becoming too arrogant. It will also be a way to give Silla an explanation."

At that time, three kingdoms existed in Northeast Asia: Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje. Among them, Goguryeo was the most powerful. As for why it was so powerful, much of the reason could be attributed to Emperor Yang of Sui, who was essentially a transport mastermind.

Goguryeo, allied with Baekje, prepared to devour Silla. Silla, left with no other option, sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty urgently for assistance.

Li Shimin's decision to send out approximately 100,000 troops was a well-planned and calculated move, not a rash one.

Compared to the ambitious and vain Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Er's meticulous planning before battles was the hallmark of a true military strategist and statesman.

While considering military action, we must first ensure domestic stability and production; we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

From this perspective, Emperor Yang of Sui's strategic acumen was not even as sharp as that of a certain bald man.

Li Jing cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have no objection. I will leave the decision entirely to you."

Apart from Li Jing, all the other officials expressed their agreement.

Since he began following the King of Qin in conquering the world, Li Er, as the leader, has almost never made a mistake in decision-making, especially in the area of ​​war.

Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling added a few more words, mainly to estimate the amount of grain and supplies. After a brief discussion, the senior officials, along with the Crown Prince, all left.

In the latter half of the meeting, not a single word about the King of Qi's rebellion was discussed.

It seems that in the hearts of these pillars of the empire, Prince Qi, Li You, is nothing more than a mischievous clown, not worth mentioning at all.

On the way back, Hou Junji secretly handed a silk handkerchief to the Crown Prince.

When Li Chengqian took the handkerchief back to the Eastern Palace, he saw four small characters embroidered on it: "Urgent matters should be handled quickly!"

The Crown Prince knew that Hou Junji was urging him to act quickly.

He sighed, placed the handkerchief over the candle, and burned it.

The coup was something the Eastern Palace faction had been planning since last year. To prepare for it, Prince Li Yuanchang, his son-in-law Du He, and Helan Chushi, a member of the Eastern Palace's Imperial Guard, worked tirelessly, even bribing Hegan Chengji, the Left Guard General, to monitor the emperor's daily life day and night. Helan Chushi was also Hou Junji's son-in-law; leveraging this relationship, and given Hou Junji's dissatisfaction with Li Er, he also joined the rebellious group.

Although things were almost ready, Li Chengqian's personality contained a cowardly and fearful side, so he hesitated to make a decision.

It wasn't until the emperor flew into a rage a dozen days ago and sent guards to the Eastern Palace to strangle Chengxin to death right in front of him that Li Chengqian finally harbored murderous intent.

To the emperor, Chengxin was nothing more than a seductive woman in the palace.

For the Crown Prince, Chengxin was his friend and partner.

Recalling all the moments he had shared with Chengxin, Li Chengqian was overcome with grief and silently shed tears.

This is the Crown Prince's study, and even the Crown Princess is not allowed to enter, so no one knows that the Crown Prince is in a state of emotional collapse.

As the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Chengqian must never show any weakness in front of others.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

It was the personal eunuch waiting outside the corridor, and his voice sounded rather anxious.

Li Chengqian stopped crying: "What's wrong?"

"The Left Garrison Commander requests an audience!"

It turned out to be Hegan Chengji. The Crown Prince tidied himself up and let Hegan Chengji in.

"Your Highness, has the Prince of Qi truly rebelled?"

He Gan Chengji appeared very excited.

"Indeed, the Emperor summoned his ministers to discuss this matter."

"Your Highness, even someone like Prince Qi dares to rebel, what are you still hesitating about?"